In the 50's and 60's there was a lot of deserved attention paid to the Hammer films, but there were also several British films that, I think, are classics in their own right: VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED, THE INNOCENTS, HORROR HOTEL and DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS. It's interesting that three of them star actors you don't usally associate with sci-fi or horror films: George Sanders, Howard Keel and Deborah Kerr.
shareVillage of the Damned was an American film. It was made by MGM studios but filmed on loaction in the UK with an English cast. The Day of the Triffids (Hammer) film is terrible!!!. The BBC TV series is soooo much better. The similarities between 28 Days Later and this series are uncanny!!!! Both are John Wyndham novels (Village of the Damned = "The Midwich Cuckoos").
And, no.......I'm not American......I'm Welsh.
Check out the Amicus film "From Beyond the Grave" and Jonathan Miller's "Whistle and I'll Come to You". The latter is on the BFI archive television DVD. Classic british horror......you can't beat it!!!!!
buffmonkey.co.uk
I had forgotten about the remake of DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS. Thanks for the reminder. FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE I have in my collection which I think I just completed with THE TORTURE GARDEN which was very difficult to find.
I had no idea as your nationality. It doesn't matter to me.
I seemt to remember a classic MR James ghost story with the title WHISTLE AND I'LL COME TO YOU. My favorit still remains DEAD OF NIGHT.
Incidentally, my birthday is May 28 which is the day after Peter Cushing and Vincent Price.
I've always been a horror film fan since seeing THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS and ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN when I was young. Hollywood rarely makes any good horror films any more, and I find myself preferring the Asian films. Unfortunately, Hollywood discovered Asian horror a few years ago and is now remaking films such as THE RING, DARK WATER and others. They should've stopped years ago with THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN.
Unfortunately, that's what Hollywood seems to have on its mind these days: remakes of old movies and tv shows and sequels.
So what did I do when I wrote my first screenplay? A new version of the classic French film THE WAGES OF FEAR.
Incidentally, I met Patty McCormick, who starred in THE BAD SEED years ago as a sweet little blonde who moonlights as a pyschopath, this past weekend at a celebrity and antiques show here in Maryland. Inspiration for the blond children in VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED? Another classic movie that shows you don't need Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi or blood and guts to scare people.
Dead of Night!!! Classic!!! Really scary stuff. It's a shame Ealing never did another horror. The story with the doll is very creepy....and the tale with the mirror...very similar to the one in From Beyond the Grave. If you get a chance (and haven't already) read some short stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes.
THE WAGES OF FEAR.....was that made by the same guy who directed Les Diabolquie? Classic film....not quite horror....but very tense stuff.
shareSame director and his wife Vera Clouzot. Incidentally Criterion recently out Diabolique on DVD with a scene specific commentary. For French horror I would recommend Eyes without A Face. I'm not sure if I would recommend Haute Tension which is a prime example of extremely violent tortune porn such as the Saw Films.
shareIt's been years since I read a collection of his stories, and I can't remember anything about them. I read a collection by somebody else whose stories were filmed as THE MONSTER CLUB-good cast, lousy movie. Last year I added TORTURE GARDEN to my collection.
On a side note, I used to live in Mount Rainier, MD where the reallife "exorcist" occurred and had my first communion in St. James where the rites were performed. I never heard anything about it although I was the same age as the boy who was "possessed."
A further side note, I live in Gaithersburg, Md. where some of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was filmed. A $140,000 return on a minimal investment goes to show you never know what will catch people's fancy at the movies.
A few years ago I wrote a psychological horror short story THE MAN WHO LIVED ACROSS THE HALL FROM WOODY ALLEN about a man who cannot distinguish between reality and his delusions. It was based on two nightmares I had, and I don't know which was worse--the nightmares or the story when I read it. Somebody pointed out living across the hall from Woody Allen would be a nightmare in itself. That was one of his delusions--having Woody Allen as a neighborn in an old apartment building in Washington, DC.
TORTURE GARDEN.....look into the shears of fate!!! or destinty...I can't remember...!!!!
So your a script writter?? Excellent!! I'm a film school student over here in the UK (a mature one at the ripe old age of 30!!). I have been directing music videos of late (all of them have been aired on TV over here..one was aired on CD:UK and MTV2). here is the link....
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=617056074&n=2
I'm trying to get a short film funded at the moment (via the Welsh Art Council and the Lottery Film grant scheme)
Take a look at one of my videos and mail me on IMDB. I would love to read some of your work as I feel we have a smililar taste!!
Cheers PJWOODHALL!!
Rod.
Oh and by the way....I was confirmed a catholic too. But now I consider myself enlightened!!!
What is it about catholics and horror films!!!
Must be the fear of god!!!
Somehow you divined I am a scriptwriter from my having written a short story called THE MAN WHO LIVED ACROSS THE HALL FROM WOODY ALLEN. Shades of Sherlock Holmes!
Congratulations on making music videos and getting them on tv. I am 64 by the way and have published 3 articles for a defunct Navy magazine on maritime history.
I do, however, have one screenplay based on the French classic THE WAGES OF FEAR. About four years ago I heard a voice tell me(I don't normally hear voices): "THE WAGES OF FEAR with women." I stopped and thought that was an interesting idea. Instead of having four tough guys driving two truckloads of nitroglycerin to an oil well fire, why not have four women? Any job a man can do, a woman can do better. Right.
It took about 2 months to write the story(86 Pages) Too long for a short story, too short for a novel. But it was structured like a movie. The problem was I didn't know how to write a screenplay until I found computer software. The first draft took four months, the second a month. I took a college course INTRODUCTION TO FILMS and got a B- for the screeplay. One of the requirements for the course was to either analyze 3 films by a director such as Spielberg or else write a screenplay. I don't know how many students turn in an entire script.
I submitted it to a Hollywood contest and received a very thorough, singled-spaced anaylis. One of the major problems was the legal issue of remaking somebody else's movie.
I have a condition called Asberger's Syndrome which is related to autism, and as a result I tend to obsess on movies. The good news is I know more about movies than you want to know. The bad news is I know more about movies than you want to know. If you want to know more about autism I recommend Barry Levinson's RAIN MAN with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. A friend of mine Ralph Tabakin had a role in the film as a Vegas casino security man who figures out how Hoffman and Cruise are cheating at blackjack. Ralph told me he was surprised at the reaction to the movie. $300,000,000! Would it have made as much with other actors?
Would like to hear from you again.
At the moment I can send you this poem I wrote 40 years+ ago which finally evolved into a short novel. Unfortunately I am not computer literate enough to send anything longer.
THE SONG OF THE SIREN
My love calls to me,
My love calls to me
From the depths of the sea.
And I must go,
And I must go
To where she waits for me below.
The crashing of the wave,
The crashing of the wave
Leads me on to a watery grave.
And in the ocean depths,
And in the ocean depths
I find my true love--Death.
Actually, the short novel(80 pages) is part of a 3-volume, 800 page novel I spent two years writing and have never tried to get published in any form.
Hope you enjoy it.
Paul
Fantastic......beautiful. Really, really beautiful.
Sorry about the mix-up.....I didn't read the message throughly!! But I would still love to read some of your work.
You can email me at [email protected]
I have Rainman. Great film. Dustin Hoffman is fantastic.
You should really try to get something published, based on that poem (and your preivous posts), you have a wounderful way with words.
I look forward to hearing from you.
If you would like to see one of my videos, go to www.mightyatom.co.uk and click on the record label page. Scroll down and you will see a screen shot on the right hand side saying "Featured Video". You can view one of them here!!
Cheers,
Rod.
Rod, thanks for the compliment on the poem.
I don't usually like Tom Cruise, but he deserves a lot of credit for RAIN MAN as he was the main character and had to carry the burden. Credit also goes to Valerie Galino representing the audience's viewpoint. Cruise in the meantime is self-destructing with MI3 being a flop, his Scientology advocacy and his antics on the Oprah Winfrey show last year.
I would like to send you THE MAN WHO LIVED ACROSS THE HALL FROM WOODY ALL since you like horror movies, but I don't know how to send via the Internet. Nor do I have an address for you.
It's been 36 years since I spent a week in London. $160 from JFK to Stansted and back thru a Defense Department travel agency when I was working for the Marine Corps.
I'll try to look up your video as you suggested. How is your short film coming along and how did you get started?
I live outside Washington with my wife June who has cerebal palsy, and we have a Shih Szu Scruffy to keep us busy. Major interests are films, writing and Toastmasters(24 years).
Paul
Haven't heard from you in a while and was wondering how you're doing. Today's the 4th of July. Screw the rebels!
We've had some horrenous rainstorms around here during the past week, but they're nothing compared to the destruction and devastation visited upon New Orleans almost a year ago.
New Orleans was a disaster waiting to happen due to many factors: the Mississippi River, the local geography, bad construction on the part of the Army Corps of Engineers, etc. You cannot evacuate that many people under any circumstances, and the Federal Emergency Magagement Agency was run by a man who had no experience beyond show horses management. Naturally Bush told him "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job." A week later he was gone. Hurricane season is here, and nobody know what will happen to New Orleans.
I spent 4-5 months in Louisiana in 1981 working as a field auditor for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission(FERC), and I couldn't stand the heat. FERC regulates our energy and pipeline companies, but that's another story.
The experience gave me material for my screenplay, but it also caused me to almost have a nervous breakdown. But that's another story.
Paul Woodall
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